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The plenary assembly of the Control Board of the DOCa Rioja has approved the harvest specifications and rules for the 2018 vintage. According to a press release, the stipulated specifications concern the optimisation of wine quality, the proper use of the winegrower identification number to control grape deliveries, compliance with the maximum permissible values for the quantity of grapes as well as the ratio of the quantity of grapes to the quantity of wine.
In addition, an individual quality stock was newly introduced this year. This implements the concept of a yield reserve, which was originally decided by the wine industry back in 2007. After the difficult situation in 2017 and the subsequent discussions about stocks in Rioja, this system will be implemented at both winery and cooperative level in the future.
According to the Rioja Information Office, the control council has set this year's harvest yield at 118 percent. The aim is, on the one hand, to secure and further improve the quality and, on the other hand, to stabilise the quantity balance in order to ensure that the current demand for wines can be covered. This yield target means a maximum of 7,670 kg/ha for red grapes and 10,620 kg/ha for white grapes. The permitted yield of 118 per cent is made up of two components: The maximum yield that can be declared as Rioja wine is 110 per cent. An additional yield of eight per cent can be stored in the cellar as a stock quantity, which corresponds to 520 kg/ha for red grapes and 720 kg/ha for white grapes.
The grape to wine ratio has been set at a maximum of 72 litres of wine per 100 kilograms of grapes. Any quantity of wine exceeding this ratio must be distilled.
The individual quality stock system allows for wine production of an additional 20 per cent above the specified maximum, spread over a three-year period. As this scheme is voluntary, winegrowers and wineries that do not wish to make use of the option must explicitly waive it each year by 30 November at the latest. If a winery waives the individual quality stock, the corresponding quantity of wine is marketed as common table wine ("wine from Spain"). The establishment of the quality stock must be expressly included in the grape purchase and sale contract between the producer.
-The establishment of the quality stock must be explicitly included and taken into account in the grape purchase and sale contract between the producer and the processor. The quantities must be specifically stated.
For the system to remain in force permanently, it must be either explicitly confirmed or reviewed two years after its introduction. If it is decided not to continue the system, the build-up of the quality stock will be terminated and the stock released until the marketing of the wine in question ends. According to the press release, this will not have any retroactive consequences.
For single-vineyard wines ("vinos de viñedos singulares"), an individual quality stock is not provided for in principle.